http://www.jessewhite2006.com/
Leadership, Integrity and Innovation
Jesse White was elected the 37th Illinois Secretary of State in November 1998. In November 2002, he was reelected by winning all 102 counties and garnering more than 2.3 million votes — the largest vote total by any candidate for Illinois statewide office in a quarter of a century.
Jesse White brought integrity and innovation to the Illinois Secretary of State's office. During his first term, he created a strong, independent Inspector Generalís office, managed the largest distribution of new Illinois license plates in the state's history, successfully fought for tougher DUI laws, reformed the state's Commercial Driver's License program, and created the office's first online services.
The Illinois Secretary of State's office is the largest and most diverse office of its kind in the nation, providing more direct services to the people of Illinois than any other public agency. White's office issues state ID cards, vehicle license plates and titles, registers corporations, enforces the Illinois Securities Act, administers the Organ Donor Program, and licenses drivers and maintains driver records. As State Librarian, Secretary White oversees the State Library and literacy programs, and as State Archivist, he maintains records of legal or historic value.
Prior to his election as Secretary of State, White served as Cook County Recorder of Deeds — a job he was first elected to in 1992 and re-elected in 1996. Before that, he served 16 years in the Illinois General Assembly, representing the most culturally, economically and racially diverse district in Illinois.
In 1959, White founded the internationally known Jesse White Tumbling Team to serve as a positive alternative for children residing in Chicago's Cabrini-Green and Henry Horner public housing communities. Since its inception, more than 8,400 young men and women have performed with the team. White has spent more than 44 years working as a volunteer with the team to help kids stay away from gangs, drugs, alcohol and smoking, and to help set at-risk youth on the path to success. The program has received international praise.
White served our country as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division and as a member of the Illinois National Guard. He played professional baseball with the Chicago Cubs organization, which was followed by a 33-year career with the Chicago public school system as a teacher and administrator.
Jesse White earned his bachelor of science degree from Alabama State College (now Alabama State University) in 1957, where he was a two-sport athlete earning all-conference honors in baseball and basketball. In May 1995, White was inducted into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. He was an all-city baseball and basketball player at Chicago's Waller High School (now Lincoln Park Academy) and was inducted into the Chicago Public League Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in June 1995. In 1999, he was inducted into the Alabama State University Sports Hall of Fame. Born in alton, Illinois, he now lives on Chicago's near-north side.
Jesse White
Political experience: Illinois secretary of state, 1998 to present; Cook County recorder of deeds, 1992-98; Illinois General Assembly, 16 years.
Issue 1: Ethics: In my first two terms as secretary of state, I have made it a top priority to restore integrity to the office. My first order of business was to ban the longstanding practice of asking employees to purchase or sell campaign fundraising tickets. I only ask my employees to do their job to the best of their ability. I also hired a former U.S. attorney, Jim Burns, as my inspector general to root out corruption. I have given him all the resources he needs to initiate and complete professional, independent investigations into misconduct. I also worked with him to pass meaningful ethics reform legislation for the office. I will continue to ensure that employees in my office operate under a code of conduct and serve the public courteously. Those who violate the rules will face strict discipline, including the possibility of job termination and incarceration.
Issue 2: Customer service: As secretary of state, I have also made customer service a top priority. I have used technology to improve customer service by offering numerous services through the Internet, including ordering your license plate stickers. I have also employed new technology to streamline operations throughout the office. We equipped our driver services facilities with automated customer management systems and automated testing machines to reduce waits. We also used technology to complete the state's largest replating project in record time and to create the Electronic Registration and Titling program that allows car dealerships to conduct vehicle transactions with my office instantaneously via computer. In addition, I initiated legislation to increase penalties for disability parking violations. The new penalties provide for fines up to $500 and the suspension of driving privileges. I have also directed the Secretary of State Police to conduct disability parking stings throughout the state to catch violators.
Issue 3: Road safety: In my first two terms, I have focused a great deal of attention to making the roads of Illinois safer for motorists. I initiated landmark laws targeting repeat DUI offenders and people who habitually drive on suspended and revoked licenses. I created a court supervision database so that bad drivers couldn't hide traffic violations from my office and last year created a new law that limits drivers to two court supervisions per year so that chronic offenders couldn't abuse the system to avoid driver's license suspensions. I created a new temporary registration permit to aid law enforcement officials and employed new technology to protect against identity theft and fraud. I also put in place more than a dozen reforms that turned a commercial driver's license program that was mired in the Operation Saferoad scandal into a program now credited as one of the best in the country by federal officials.
From: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/politics/naperville/n17secretar.html